In this April 17, 2012 file photo, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison arrives for a court appearance at a federal building in San Francisco. A Federal jury in San Francisco reached an impasse on a key issue in Oracle's copyright-infringement case against Google, handing the database-software company a major setback on Monday, May, 7, 2012. The jury has already spent more than 25 hours in deliberations after hearing two weeks of evidence that included testimony from both Ellison and Google CEO Larry Page.

In this April 18, 2012 file photo, Google CEO Larry Page walks into a federal building in San Francisco. A Federal jury in San Francisco reached an impasse on a key issue in Oracle's copyright-infringement case against Google, handing the database-software company a major setback on Monday, May, 7, 2012. The jury has already spent more than 25 hours in deliberations after hearing two weeks of evidence that included testimony from both Page and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

Oracle failed to convince a federal judge in an intellectual property case that Google Inc. unfairly used its technology in the search engine provider's Android software for mobile devices.

On Wednesday U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco denied Oracle's request for a ruling that could have established that Google is liable for copyright infringement.

Oracle asked Alsup for a judgment in its favor on "fair use" after a jury found that Google infringed parts of its Java programming language and deadlocked on whether the copying constituted fair use. Liability rests on whether there was fair use, Alsup said after the jury reached a verdict Monday.

"I don't think it would be right," Alsup said at a hearing Wednesday. The decision could pave the way for a new trial on the question of whether Google's infringement makes it liable for as much as $1 billion in damages for using parts of Java to develop Android without paying for a license.

The legal doctrine of fair use states that anyone can use copyrighted work without consent of the owner under certain circumstances, such as for teaching, in news reporting and commentary or to advance the public interest by creating something new.

Monday's jury verdict came in the first phase of an eight-week trial that began April 16. The jury is hearing testimony this week on Oracle's claims that Google also infringed two Java patents. The last phase of the trial will deal with damages.